March 28, 2024

A Love Affair With Clay

May 17, 2015

Schyler Binkley took drawing classes and dabbled in ceramics as a high school student growing up in Niles, Michigan, but it wasn’t until he attended Western Michigan University and learned the intricacies of wood-firing his art works that he focused on pottery. A few years later, he has opened Daybreak Gallery and Studio in Manistee.

"I really enjoy working on the wheel," says Binkley. "I like the throwing process most of all."

His works are a combination of creativity and practicality. Cups, bowls, bottles and other utilitarian pieces line the shelves of his gallery. Each piece reflects the beauty of northern Michigan with images of grass, trees, sky and water. His homemade glazes make his earth tones especially appealing. Not only are the images of northern Michigan important to his work, but Binkley actually mixes Manistee beach sand into his clay pieces. He plans to expand this incorporation of local materials in 2015.

"This year I plan to incorporate more local clay into my works," says Binkley. "I have learned of an area northeast of Wellston that is supposed to have some great clay available."


HOW I GOT STARTED

I fell in love with clay during my time at Western. I enrolled there as a general art student in 2009. My goal was to explore different media until one jumped out and grabbed me, which is what happened when I started working with clay on the potter’s wheel. I spent a lot of hours in the studio that semester because there was a girl I was interested in in the class, but she had a boyfriend at the time, so the only way we could hang out was during open lab hours. I certainly think the extra time I spent practicing the basics got me off and running faster than I otherwise would have.

THE STORY BEHIND MY ART, MY INSPIRATION 

The vast majority of my work is based upon a utilitarian, functional concept. For me, making these objects is really just the be ginning.

The piece is only finished when the user picks it up, feels the weight of it in their hands, and enjoys the piece’s subtleties through use. I often think that I don’t make pots, I make that warm and fuzzy feeling people get when they use them.

On the other hand, I look at my pottery as sculpture. I have to consider the form, proportions, surface among all the other principles that go into a good design. Pottery is a little different in the fact that it is not necessarily representational. I only have form and surface with which to make a statement, which can be challenging. But I love pottery because of how subtle it is.

WORK I’M MOST PROUD OF

I really enjoy the ongoing body of woodfired work that I produce. Wood-firing is an incredibly labor intensive and time consuming process where the pieces are glazed naturally by the ash and flame that come into direct contact with the pots. When things go right, the resulting surface is amazingly varied and organic. However, because so much of the end result is left to chance, things rarely turn out as intended. It is an exercise in letting go and accepting what happens. Every time we unload the wood kiln, it is either heartbreakingly beautiful or just painfully heartbreaking.

YOU WON’T BELIEVE

How much chemistry goes into making pots. It’s wild. Also, when I was in high school I played drums in a touring band, Ender. We did sort of Indie-Rock, kind of pop-y. I still play in a band, Clear Heels.

MY FAVORITE ARTIST 

I think the work that has impacted me the most are Richard Serra’s "Torqued Ellipses." For these, Serra used huge machines that usually roll out giant pieces of metal for use in ship building to torque and bend sheets of steel on a monumental scale. It’s very minimal, but very, very powerful.

ADVICE FOR ASPIRING YOUNG ARTISTS

Take care of your body. It’s the only thing that’s going to get you through. You can only consistently ask more of yourself, and if your body can’t keep pace, it makes things a lot more difficult.

MY WORK CAN BE SEEN/PURCHASED

Online at www.schylerbinkley.com, at Daybreak Gallery & Studio in Manistee and at the Mitten Bar in Ludington, which has a pretty large mug club that I make the mugs for.

I exhibit statewide, but those shows are always temporary.

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